Newspaper’s ban of “pro-life” causes mix-up

Los Angeles, Calif., Mar 8, 2004 / 12:00 am (CNA).- The Los Angeles Times’ policy to ban the phrase “pro-life” created some confusion last month when music critic Mark Swed wrote that a Richard Strauss opera was “pro-life”, but a copy editor changed his review to read "anti-abortion."

The copy editor was adhering to a strict newspaper policy, which bans the phrase "pro-life" since the newspaper considers it offensive to people who support abortion, reported Reuters March 5.

But Swed had used the phrase to mean a celebration of life. The copy editor didn't realize that the opera "Die Frau Ohne Schatten" had nothing to do with abortion.

"It’s about children who aren't born yet screaming to be born – not abortion," Swed told Reuters. "Somebody who didn't quite get it got a little bit too politically correct ... and we had a little breakdown in communications."